


Can't Go On Without You

by hopecanbeyoursword



Series: can't let you go, your hand prints on my soul [3]
Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Avengers: Endgame (Movie) Trailer, BAMF Pepper Potts, Iron Family, IronMom, Ironbrother, Irondad, Nebula & Tony Stark Friendship, Nebula (Marvel) is a Good Bro, Pepper Potts as Rescue, Post-Avengers: Infinity War Part 1 (Movie), but now it's harley's since he's around and peter isn't, harley keener in an iron suit, ironson, it's actually peter's
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-23
Updated: 2019-04-23
Packaged: 2020-01-01 04:16:41
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,840
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18328445
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hopecanbeyoursword/pseuds/hopecanbeyoursword
Summary: They need all the help they can get to undo Thanos' actions. So Pepper Potts goes into space to bring back Tony and Nebula.





	Can't Go On Without You

Pepper wished she had time to admire how beautiful space was, but she had a mission to accomplish. Following Bruce’s directions, she directed her suit towards Tony’s last known location. She pushed the suit to go as fast as she could, taking comfort in the familiar voice of FRIDAY when her anxiety spiked. Tony was far away, and she had no idea how long it would take to get to him. She had to hold on to hope that his resources wouldn’t dwindle out before she reached him and whoever Nebula was.

She was glad, however, that her fiancé wasn’t alone. She hoped he could help Nebula, and that Nebula would help him, until she could get there. They would have no idea anyone was coming to help them, but while Nebula wouldn’t recognize the suit, Tony would.

The familiar chatter of Rhodes, Bruce and Natasha coming from the coms grounded her, reminded Pepper that she was doing the right thing. They all needed Tony, and he needed them. They would need as many people as possible to fix everything.

“You doing okay, Pep?” Rhodes voice was soft.

Pepper nodded. “Yeah, yeah I’m okay. Just want to finish this mission already.”

“Be careful when you get to them,” Bruce interjected. “We don’t know what injuries they have, or how Nebula will react upon seeing you, especially if Tony can’t tell her it’s you.”

“I will,” she assured him. “Is the med bay ready for them?” She wanted to keep the conversation going. It helped her feel less alone in the vast cosmos. She could understand why Tony feared space. It was endless, dark.

“Bruce and Nat are stocking it as we speak,” Rhodes promised. “Harley’s with Thor. They’re keeping lookout. They needed something to do, and they’re getting along pretty well. Everyone else is doing okay, considering the circumstances. Steve and Clint are on a jog. Helps keep them from spiraling too far.” He continued to talk to her, telling her everything they were doing to help keep her anxiety from getting worse. Rhodey knew she’d have at least another two hours before she reached the ship. The suit could only go so fast.

 

* * *

Harley tapped his fingers against the railing as he looked out at the vast lands of the compound. There was a lot to look at, including Steve and Clint working out. They had started with a jog, and while Steve was still running laps around the fields, Clint was practicing throwing knives at a target hanging from a tree. “How do you do this?”

Thor looked up from the files in his hands. “How do we do what?”

“Keep going. You’ve all lost everything, but the rest of the world continues to depend on you guys to save everyone. I know some of what you’ve been through. You all deserve a break. But you don’t get one. You continue to fight.”

Thor shrugged. “We do it because we want to. We believe in keeping the earth, and the rest of the galaxy, safe. But you are correct. It does weigh on us when we are the ones expected to fix everything. It’s something we have learned to live with.”

Harley sighed heavily. “I don’t know if I could do that. I mean, I wouldn’t know until I tried, but still.”

“Stark believes in you,” Thor rested his hand on Harley’s shoulder for a second. “You do not have to feel the burden we have, but yet you are still here, willing to help. That means something. We’re thankful for you, because you understand.”

Harley smiled. Even though Iron Man was his favorite for obvious reasons, Thor was quickly climbing the ranks. It would be a tough fight, and Harley knew it wouldn’t end perfectly, but even so, with others like Thor at his side, he was ready.

 

* * *

Steve was anxious.

He had been running for half an hour, trying to keep himself from over-thinking. But soon, hopefully, Pepper would be returning with Tony and another ally. He was interested in finding out who Nebula was, but he was more afraid about seeing Tony again. The last time they had spoken was in Siberia. A lot had happened in the past two years, as Steve had found out thanks to Pepper and Rhodes. If it hadn’t been for them, Steve might have though Tony hadn’t lost anyone that he was really close with. After all, the rest of the original team except Clint had been in Wakanda, and they all knew who they lost there. Tony hadn’t joined them, taking the fight into space, away from the earth. The Earth’s greatest defender. Facing his fear to protect all the people who resided on Earth. And in the process, he lost the kid he saw as his own.

Steve couldn’t understand what it was like to loose a child. Clint would be better at understanding Tony’s grief in that sense. But Steve knew it would be him that Tony would be most wary about, and with good reason. Their last conversation hadn’t ended well. Steve was worried their next one wouldn’t go well, either. Both of them were both very stubborn, and always managed to get on one another’s nerves.

But they had to work together, now, more than ever. Steve, Tony, Clint, Natasha, Bruce, Thor. The original Avengers. And any allies they could get. Rhodes, Scott, Harley, Ava. Everything was at stake.

 

* * *

“Uh, Thor? You’re more of an expert than me when it comes to space stuff, but, uh, is that normal?” Harley pointed up at a bright light heading towards them.

Thor immediately got up, heading inside to warn everyone else. Once it was clear it wasn’t Pepper, Tony or Nebula, they were on high alert. They knew it less than five minutes, whatever the light was would land. However, while he had to get down to the common room, and by the time he got there, it was too late to give his teammates a warning.

There was an unknown woman standing in front of Natasha, Steve, Rhodes and Bruce.

 

* * *

The pager was still hooked up to FRIDAY’s operating systems. They had found it in the place of Nick Fury and Maria Hill. It had been activated, the red, blue and gold symbol flashing. Natasha had been the one to find it, being one of the only people that Fury trusted.

She had brought it back to the compound, and with help from the others, was trying to figure out what exactly it was. She knew the others were right to be wary. They had no idea who ha been summoned. However, Natasha knew that whoever, or whatever, it was, had to be trustworthy, or Fury never would have used it.

“I want to know what’s on the other end of that thing.” Natasha’s voice was firm. She turned around, ready to go help figure out what the signal summoned.

“Where’s Fury?”

 

* * *

The woman who infiltrated their compound was dressed in red, blue and gold. She stood her ground as they all pulled weapons on her. Thor joined them, hands crackling with lightning. He stayed in front of Harley, knowing the teenager was the only one without any training. He couldn’t let harm come to him.

“Who are you?” Steve asked.

She turned to look at him, studying his features. The corner of her mouth twitched up. “So, you guys are the mighty heroes that Fury told me about?” She eased up. “I’m Carol. A… friend of Fury, you could say. Where is he? He called me, and he promised to only do so if it was an emergency.”

“Wait. Fury’s had you on speed-dial or whatever, during everything else that’s happened, and _now_ he thinks it’s an emergency?” Rhodes shook his head in disbelief.

Carol raised an eyebrow. “Well, half of the universe’s population is gone. If that’s not an emergency, then what is?”

“I think you should tell us a little more about yourself before we tell you anything.” Steve looked a step closer, trying to put on the Captain America act. It didn’t work with her, if her unimpressed look was anything to go by.

“Please,” Natasha requested. “If Fury trusts you, I do, too. But the boys are going to need some convincing.”

“I like you,” Carol smiled. “Let me just get out of this,” she gestured at her suit, “and then you can ask whatever you want. Sound good?”

 

* * *

Thor tuned out most of what his teammates were saying. Instead, he sat at a table, watching the newcomer. He watched Carol’s body language, looking for anything that might be suspicious. He was alone at the table, having sent Harley to go find Pepper. Just to be safe, he wanted Harley out of the room. Thor believed, like Natasha, that Carol was on their side, but he knew that his teammates could escalate disagreements.

Carol had no problem standing up to the questions aimed at her, answering them in stride. In exchange, she asked her own questions, mostly about SHIELD, Fury, Coulson and someone named Goose.

“SHIELD… no longer exists,” Natasha broke the news. “There’s very few of us left. I was an agent. So was Clint, who is somewhere in the building. Steve worked with us for a little. There’s one active team, but they’re in hiding, since the world hates the organization. Coulson… is not available at the moment, and Fury… he was one of the ones who was affected.”

“Who’s Goose?” Bruce asked. “And if you knew Fury before, did you know him when he had two eyes?”

“Goose is my cat. His cat. Our cat, I guess. Well, she’s actually not a cat. She’s a flerken.”

“A flerken? You are most honored, Carol,” Thor looked excited. “They are noble creatures, revered across the galaxy. But how did you come across one?”

“My former mentor brought her to Earth, and after she died, she went to stay at SHIELD. When I came back to Earth, she latched on to me. She apparently always liked me, even though I didn’t remember it at the time. I leave her with Fury when I’m not around. She’s been very helpful to us, but apparently not enough, since SHIELD no longer has the tesseract.”

“The tesseract?” Bruce looked at her. “You… you had the tesseract at one point?”

“Yes,” Carol nodded her head. “I had to fight for it. But it was brought back, supposedly safe at SHIELD.”

“That thing’s caused a lot of problems for us,” Rhodes muttered. “How did SHIELD manage to loose it, anyways?”

No one answered.

“So…” Bruce tried to ease the tension in the room. The tesseract was a sore spot for all of them. “About Fury’s missing eye.”

“What stories did he tell you?” Carol asked.

“Mission gone wrong, usually. Held up under torture, or a war,” Natasha shrugged. “He tells everyone something different, so no one’s entirely sure what happened.”

Carol laughed. “Probably because he’d be embarrassed if you knew. He was over affectionate with Goose, and she uh, scratched his eye out. Flerken scratches are not like cat scratches.”

Rhodes snorted. Nick Fury was one of the most dramatic people he had ever met, and he was best friends with Tony Stark.

“He used the stones again,” Natasha’s attention was drawn to the schematics of the globe that were pulled up.

“We’d be going in shorthanded, you know,” Bruce pointed out.

“Well, if he’s still got the stones,” Rhodes responded.

“So let’s get him,” Carol looked at the people around her. “Use them to get everyone back.”

“Just like that?” Bruce looked unsure.

“Yeah,” Steve responded as if it was obvious. “Just like that.”

“Even if there’s a small chance we can undo this… I mean, we owe it to everyone not in this room to try.” Natasha’s hand curled into a fist as she thought about everyone they had lost.

“If we do this, how do we know it’s going to end any differently than it did before?” Bruce asked.

“Because before you didn’t have me,” Carol responded.

“Hey, new girl. Everyone in this room is about the superhero life. If you don't mind my asking, where were you last time?” Rhodes stared at her. He didn’t doubt that she was powerful. If Fury trusted her, she had to be. But so much had happened over the years, and it would’ve been nice to have help. If they had had her help, maybe they wouldn’t have lost so much.

“There are a lot of other planets in the universe, and unfortunately, they didn’t have you guys.” Carol didn’t bat an eye. She knew they would want to know why she didn’t have to help before, but it was Fury who had the access to call her, not them. If Fury didn’t call her in before, then he must have believed the others could handle it.

“What can you do?” Natasha asked, breaking the tension.

Carol closed her hand into a fist, energy gathering around it. She let it glow, the light overtaking her entire body. When she opened her eyes, she let it drop, taking in the reactions of the heroes in front of her.

Thor stood up, coming to stand in front of her. He put his hand out, Stormbreaker answering the call. He kept his devoid of emotions for a few beats, before smiling. “I like this one,” Thor watched as Carol smiled at him, unintimidated. After a moment, she turned to look at the rest of the team currently in the room.

“What do you call yourselves?”

“We’re the Avengers,” Steve responded, standing up straight. Even though they falling apart, the name still brought pride.

“Funny, that was the name of my plane when I was an Air Force pilot.” Carol looked at them. “And Fury knew that. Looks like you were named after me.”

“Fury did say there was someone before us,” Natasha interjected. “He never said much, but I’m guessing the Captain he was referring to was _you_ , not Steve. So, _Captain_ , what can we call you?”

Carol blinked at them. She usually went by her own name, but it appeared things were different on Earth. Most of the heroes had a code name of sorts, separate from their civilian identity. Natasha was Black Widow, Steve was Captain America. “Captain Marvel,” she responded. She wanted to honor Mar-Vell, her former mentor that sent her on her current path. Someone who believed in her, and Maria, knew that women could be just as great as men. And since Fury was already calling her a captain…

“Well, then, Captain Marvel,” Natasha smiled. Not only would Carol be of help, but it would be nice to not be surrounded by mostly men. “Welcome to the team.”

 

* * *

Steve looked up at the sky, watching as the lights of a craft made its way closer. Rhodes, Pepper, Bruce and Natasha were all at his side. Pepper had found the ship, had come back to let them know they were arriving. She hadn’t wanted to leave Tony after she found him, but he had been in good hands. She had landed not long ago, her suit back in the lab.

The watched as it landed, the door opening slowly. A blue woman stepped out first, ignoring them to reach back into the craft. A hand reached out, resting on her arm, leaning on her for stability. As the two made their way closer, it was clear who the other person was.

Tony Stark.

Pepper was the first one to rush towards them, halting slightly when the blue woman stopped to look at her. Tony tapped the blue woman on the shoulder, and she let Pepper through.

They watched as Pepper wrapped her arms around Tony, tears spilling from both of their eyes. They clung to each other, Tony as he was having a hard time standing, and Pepper, as if Tony would disappear the moment she let go.

“Nebula,” a voice came from behind them. Rocket stepped closer, approaching the blue woman. “Where’s everyone else? Quill? Mantis? Gamora?” He had heard no one who stayed in space survived, but he wouldn’t believe it unless the news came from someone who had been with them.

“Gone,” Nebula shook her head. “I am sorry.” She was sincere, though her face remained blank. Though she had not known the Guardians, save for Gamora, as long as Rocket had, she could feel the loss. Just when she and her sister were finally getting along, she lost her.

“Tones,” Rhodes wrapped Pepper and Tony in a hug. “I knew you’d make it back.”

“Nebula helped,” Tony coughed. “Don’t think I would’ve gotten back without her.”

“We should get you looked at,” Nebula shut down the grieving side of her. She was concerned about her new friend, the only one besides Rocket she knew, though she knew about the others. “You were stabbed, had a moon thrown at you, and haven’t had enough sustenance the past few days.”

Immediately, Bruce stepped forward to help. Though he wasn’t that kind of doctor, he had always been there to help his teammates when they were hurt.

Nebula glanced at Tony, letting Bruce closer when she received a nod. Tony was still hurt from the events of the past few years, and she knew he wasn’t ready to face everyone yet. If someone he wasn’t ready to talk to tried to get close, she would keep them back. Bruce hadn’t even been around during the so-called civil war, so there was no reason to keep him at arms’ distance.

Pepper, Rhodes, Bruce and Nebula surrounded Tony, ushering him back into the building, leaving Steve and Natasha to follow in silence.

 

* * *

While Tony recovered, Nebula stood guard outside his door. She scowled when most people came close, remembering the stories her new friend had mumbled to her. She knew how many of the people he used to call teammates hurt him, and she was itching to set her eyes on Steve Rogers so she could punch him in the face. He would heal quickly if she broke anything, but it would give her some sort of satisfaction. She had also been hurt by someone that was supposed to be family, so she understood.

She let a few people in without trouble. Pepper, Rhodes, Bruce, and Harley. She even let Natasha and Clint close enough to look in the window. 

When Steve tried to approach, four days in, Nebula crossed her arms and glared at him. “So you’re the so-called Captain America. Did you take pleasure from almost killing someone who was supposed to be a friend?”

Steve faltered. “I—”

“I know what happened. Why should I let you near him again? He’s suffered enough.”

“There’s no good reason, really,” Steve hung his head. “I never should’ve gone that far. It’s just… Bucky becomes my number one priority when he’s in danger. I get blinded to the danger it can put others in. It’s something I need to work on. I need to talk to Tony, apologize. I don’t regret trying to help Bucky, but I regret the hurt and destruction left behind.”

Nebula stared at him. She watched as he shifted uneasily under her gaze. Without warning, she pulled back her fist, punching Steve in the face. “You deserve that.”

“I know,” Steve responded sincerely, gingerly feeling his nose. He knew it would heal quickly.

“Give it time,” was all Nebula offered. “Then we’ll see.”

 

* * *

Clint was the first to approach Tony when he was cleared for visitors past those he considered family.

They stared at each other, the loss of family hanging heavily in the air. Neither could truly understand the loss of the other, but they could understand in a way others couldn’t. Scott was the only other one around that had a child, but Cassie was still alive.

“We’ll get them back. All of them.” Clint was determined. He had been the only Avenger with children, the only one who understood what it was like to know you could put them in danger simply be being you. He never thought that Tony would be the other of the original team to take on the roll of parent, especially to a vigilante that had died in his arms. “We’ll get out kids back.”

Tony looked up. His teammate was standing in front of him, looking confident. They hadn’t always been on the best of terms, but in that moment, they had never understood each other better.

“Together.”

 

* * *

Tony was far from healed, but he refused to lay in bed anymore. He poured over notes with Bruce and Rhodes, worked in the labs with Harley, working on the plans Shuri sent them. He trained with Pepper, Thor and Carol in the gym. He had secret meetings with Nebula and Rocket in one of the meeting rooms.

While he wasn’t actively avoiding Steve, he also didn’t go out of his way to talk to the man. Everything was still up in the air between them. And as they had both lost one of their important people, Peter and Bucky, the air around them wasn’t as hostile as it might have been a year earlier. They only talked about their plan, but their banter fell into place, like it had before.

Their first one on one conversation came not much later, standing outside of the compound. They were tired, battle-worn and grieving, but as they stared at each other, they let themselves believe they could fix everything.

“Do you trust me?” Tony stuck his hand out. He wasn’t healed, but he insisted on fighting. Everyone else had agreed they couldn’t keep him from fighting, but Steve was the last one who hadn’t had a say yet.

“I do,” Steve shook Tony’s hand. They were in this, together, no matter the outcome. They had faced many trials and tribulations, and they always came out better when working together. The two of them, Natasha, Thor, Clint, Bruce. And now they had more help. Rhodes, Nebula, Rocket, Harley, Pepper, Ava, Scott, Carol.

They smiled at each other, feeling the weight of their “disagreement” lifting. Not completely, since they still had a lot to talk about, a lot to work through. But they were moving past it.

As they walked back into the compound, joining their teammates, Tony looked at the people in the room. Teammates, old and new, gathered together for the biggest, and possibly last, fight of their lives. And beside him was the family he patched together over the years. Pepper, the love of his life. Rhodey, the brother and friend who had been there at his worst, and still stayed at his side. Harley, the first kid who wormed his way into Tony’s life. All in suits he created to keep his special people safe. There was just one person missing, the kid who Tony would save even if was the last thing he would ever do.

It was time to get their family back.

**Author's Note:**

> There's going to be one part to this series. I'm going to try and have it up before Endgame comes out in the US, but it depends on the workload I get this week.
> 
> Everything I write in this series comes from the trailers and tv spots, along with my speculation. I have my own hopes about Endgame, which I project a little in this series, but I did not include any possible spoilers from outside the trailers.
> 
> Remember, after you see Endgame, please don't spoil it.


End file.
